A native of Maryland, Sharfstein graduated from
Harvard College in 1991. In the fall of 1992, he entered
Harvard Medical School, from where he graduated in 1996. He did his residency in pediatrics through a joint program at
Boston Children's Hospital and
Boston Medical Center, completing a special
pediatrics fellowship with
Boston University. Sharfstein then left Boston for
Washington, D. C., where he joined the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee and served as health policy advisor to Congressman
Henry A. Waxman. Among the issues he worked on were
HIV/
AIDS, oversight of the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), tobacco, and public health. After the election of President
Barack Obama in 2008, Sharfstein served as leader of the Obama transition team on the FDA. Media reports indicated he was a finalist to become FDA commissioner in the new administration, but instead he was appointed by President Obama in 2009 as Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA. Sharfstein, whose early work in politics included work for
Public Citizen's Health Watch, has been a frequent critic of drug industry marketing practices—going all the way back to his days in medical training. During his time as public health commissioner of Baltimore, he led the effort to restrict the marketing of pediatric cold remedies. Sharfstein has also written articles criticizing the
American Medical Association for its pattern of giving campaign contributions to political candidates that take stands the majority of physicians oppose. One of those articles focused on AMA donations to candidates and elected officials who have fought the regulation of tobacco—a position the medical community generally favors and that Sharfstein has advocated over the years. Although Sharfstein's candidacy for a top FDA post raised concerns among some special interest groups—the
Wall Street Journal reported on an "Anybody But Sharfstein" memo placed in circulation, apparently at the behest of drug companies. He has also come under the ire of anti-vaccine groups because, consistent with the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the vast majority of medical professionals, he has been an ardent supporter of vaccines as an essential part of public health. Both of Sharfstein's parents are physicians. His father
Steven Sharfstein is a former president of the
American Psychiatric Association. In 2014, Sharfstein announced that he would leave his position as secretary of the Maryland state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to become associate Dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sharfstein currently hosts the
Bloomberg School of Public Health podcast, Public Health on Call. ==Publications==